Agri Ministry slams Oxfam report on flooding

Jan 15, 2009 News

“The objective for such incomplete and inaccurate conclusions is

a mystery”- Deputy PS

Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Agriculture Ministry, Brian Greenidge

Following the publication of a report on the current floods in Guyana by Oxfam, a group of non-governmental organizations from three continents, whereby the response to the crisis was described as weakly coordinated, Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Agriculture Ministry Brian Greenidge has slammed the statement.
“The objective for such incomplete and inaccurate conclusions is a mystery,” said Greenidge.
The situation report prepared by Joost van de Lest of Oxfam said that there was severe flooding of communities in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six (coastal areas) and along a number of the large rivers crossing the country.
It stated that no exact figures were available as yet but communities faced flooding fluctuating from a few inches up to as much as five feet.
“In general, lower lying rice, sugarcane and vegetable areas are flooded several feet…High mortality of livestock…Problems with water provision, flooding of pit latrines…Weak coordination on the ground. No large scale responses by stakeholders…Smaller interventions from Guyana Water Inc (provision of drinking water) and Guyana Red Cross (hygiene kits).”
According to Greenidge, the key issues raised by the Oxfam report were not comprehensive on the flooding in communities in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six, and the report did not reflect the many drainage interventions by the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and MMA working with local government bodies to aid in the removal of flood and high water accumulated in low lying areas due to excessive rainfall.
He noted that the many drainage projects completed prior to the rainy season and the interventions undertaken, and which will continue during the rainy period, have yielded positive results in quick removal of flood and accumulated waters.
Greenidge emphasised also that the NDIA has been working closely with farmers, community groups and residents in implementing many of the drainage works.
“The work of these two agencies was well coordinated in all areas in supporting the RDCs and NDCs.”
He pointed out too that to date the NDIA and Ministry of Agriculture have not received a positive response from Oxfam in establishing a Memorandum of Understanding to foster collaboration.
In relation to the availability of information and the response by the Ministry of Agriculture, Greenidge stated, “It’s very clear that Oxfam is not fully in touch with the real situation on the ground.”
He added that since the advent of “accumulation of water” on the land, the Ministry of Agriculture deployed Veterinary Officers and Livestock Assistants in addition to Crop Reporters and Extension Officers, to provide technical assistance while compiling a database of persons affected among other agronomic and economic information.
It was pointed out that other key agencies such as the Guyana Rice Development Board and Guyana Marketing Cooperation have a coordinated response to the situation on the ground, and this information is passed on a daily basis to the Civil Defence Commission which has a 24-hr office that leads the overall coordination effort.
“Therefore, we find the report prepared by Oxfam not fully reflective of the reality and only seeking to discount the efforts of the agencies, organizations and other hardworking individuals of these key situations that are working feverishly to resolve this situation…The objective for such incomplete and inaccurate conclusions is a mystery.”
Embedded in the report, it was pointed out that since mid-December 2008, communities in the coastal regions are facing severe flooding.
The report added that since the start of the flooding it has been raining consistently and some communities have been under water for a month, adding that in general, agriculture areas were hit harder than housing areas, though the lower lying housing areas as well as those located near rivers are flooded as well.
It added that since coordination mechanisms are weak little information is available.
“With the temporary suspension of the DIPECHO program and the lack of information coming from the flooded areas, Oxfam decided to send out a team for a rapid assessment of the situation in the country considering that the rain is probable to continue until the end of March…Oxfam is enforcing the role of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) and trying to activate other stakeholders for a joint assessment.”
Apart from what Oxfam called weak coordination on the ground, it stated that the Office of the President has mandated the CDC to coordinate the collection of data and the response but the CDC, although willing, has very limited resources for this.
It added that the Government has indicated that it will not declare a state of emergency. “Although CDC is in charge of collecting information, it does not receive sufficient/quality inputs from other stakeholders (with exceptions).”

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